I’m trying to join Paramount+ (P+) using their webpage. Using either my PC, iPad or Samsung Smart TV, when I go to www.paramountplus.com I’m directed to www.paramountplus.com/CA/ instead. P+ service says that’s a new one on them and say the problem is on Viasat routing.
I can use my Android phone (ATT account) to go to P+ and it connects to the USA, but then I can’t connect my TV to the app because Viasat is sending the link to Canada. This says that the problem is indeed a Viasat routing problem. I called Viasat Service last night and the rep told me the problem is in my TV. No, it’s not. Clearly my PC being sent to Canada has nothing to do with the TV P+ app.
Anyone have this issue and know how to correct it?
Hi, @ramesess,
Thanks for your message!
That’s indeed strange. Have you ever noticed this same kind of behavior on other web apps?
I’ll investigate that and let you know once I have some feedback
@ramesess, let’s do this test:
Please access this website: https://geolocation.onetrust.com/cookieconsentpub/v1/geo/location
Check if you see a page similar to this one:
I entered the link and this was the result:
jsonFeed({“country”:“US”,“state”:“MI”,“stateName”:“Michigan”,“continent”:“NA”});
It clearly shows I’m in the USA, but Viasat continues to send me to Canada when I try to log onto Paramountplus.com.
Anderson,
I logged onto my ATT WiFi Hotspot and connected to the Smart TV. WIth that internet connection, the Paramount+ (P+) App went directly to the US site at www.paramountplus.com
I immediately switched back to my Visat account connection on the TV and the P+ App took me to www.paramountplus.com/CA/. This verifies that the problem lies somewhere in the Viasat link going to P+ International. This the ONLY site/app that I’m experiencing this problem with.
I called P+ Tech Services and they never heard of the problem before and have nothing to offer.
During a call to Viasat Tech Services (operator Max) I was told they have no idea what is causing the problem. They blamed the Region settings on my TV, but apparently missed the fact that connecting through ATT internet solved the issue of routing to Canada. Since all of my devices are doing this on Viasat, but not on ATT internet, the ownership of this lies somewhere in this connection. BTW, I’m on my PC connected to this Forum on Viasat and not going to a Canada link.
Oh, and Tech Services kept saying I had a VPN problem - I don’t use, or know how, a VPN, which would probably affect more than a single website?
I’m hoping someone there is savvy enough to figure this one out.
Thanks,
Dennis
Hi, @ramesess,
Thanks for the detailed description.
From what I could find, the Paramount+ website redirects the user based on his IP address. That was probably the guess of that tech you mentioned.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a way of tunneling your connection through a server so that your true IP is masked. For example, if I connect to a VPN in the Netherlands, the website will redirect me to /intl
I found some people complaining about that issue in this Reddit thread: Paramount Website problem
IP geolocation can provide a general location, but the accuracy might vary, and in some cases, it could point to the wrong location. Considering the limitations of IP-based geolocation and the potential impact on the user experience, Paramount+ should provide users with the option to review and adjust their detected location before any redirection.
Can you try following these instructions from Google? See results for a different country - Computer - Google Search Help This may fix the issue in the browser, but for the TV I’m not so sure.
I’ll keep looking for a solution.
Thanks for your cooperation!
Hi, @ramesess,
Just to give more context on that issue:
Location services (like Google, Skyhook, Apple, Wigle, Milnikov, etc…) have in their database the geographic location of Wi-Fi networks. In simple terms, it means that based on your SSID (the name you choose for your Wi-Fi) it’s possible to get the location of your device.
So, a possibility here is that the website is consulting a location service, and your SSID is mapped to the wrong address in that service’s database
You can try following this instruction from Google, to see if that fixes the problem: How do I correct my location after moving? - Google Maps Community
The location services are not something related to the ISP. Those services have their database and means of collecting that information.
